


I Won't Let It Get You

by SteelAngel



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons, Gen, Post- Season 1, Sad Mike and Will, more tags to be added later, season 2 divergent, theyre being nerds on Halloween
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 19:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7982932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteelAngel/pseuds/SteelAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>EDIT! I’m hoping to return to this and tweak as part of my canon divergent season two! ;;;v;;)/<3<3</p>
    </blockquote>





	I Won't Let It Get You

**Author's Note:**

> EDIT! I’m hoping to return to this and tweak as part of my canon divergent season two! ;;;v;;)/<3<3

Dark shadows crept around the corners of the table as the boys sat around it, candles lit in the middle as they played the most anticipated campaign of the year: The Halloween Dungeon! Every year, Mike planned a special dungeon filled with treasures, guarded by monsters, and all around an amazing experience. Room after room there were evil skeletons, flesh hungry zombies, trolls, goblins, almost every type of monster available in the monster manual! That is, except the Demogorgon. Mike couldn't use that creature, especially not now. It wasn't setting appropriate and... Will. He didn't want to Will to think about-- _The Upside Down_. Mike never fully understood what it was like there, but from the knowledge of what lives there, he never wanted to find out. Slaying beasts was fun when you were a mythical knight protected by your friends, but in the real world? Never would he think that to be anywhere near fun. Shaking his head, Mike returned to reality, catching himself up on what was happening and returning to the game.

Smiling gleefully as his friends erupted in triumph after vanquishing, what they thought was, the last foe, he narrated in an even, relaxed tone.

"The mighty giant falls to the ground with an earth-rumbling -- _THUD!_ " Mike exclaims over the chatter, rolling dice behind the DM curtain and grinning at the results. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Dustin pause in counting his gold pieces, his face losing a bit of color.

"Uh, Mike? What--"

"What are you doing?" Lucas interrupted him, voice curious instead of the usual tartness it usually had, having glanced up as well from tallying the goblins he'd slain. All of them, including Will, now stared at the freckle faced boy, whom was holding something behind the curtain.

"While you guys were plundering away, you forgot to check the door to your left, which I specifically stated was locked, and you all ignored." With a smile, he looked at something he was holding and continued the story. "Behind this door there's a low grumble, like -- _gurgle, gurgle, grumble..._ There's a key on the wall, with a small note that reads, ' **DO NOT OPEN** ' in thick, hastily written letters."

"Oh no," Will closed the note pad he'd been using to count gold and such and grabbed the spell list from the stack of papers that consisted of his character. "Should I cast Detect Evil?"

"No, let's just go! We've got enough treasure, it should be the end right? He's just trying to mess with us!" Continuing his counting, Lucas tried to reassure the group, but Mike wasn't buying it.

"Beyond the door the sounds become louder -- _GURGLE, GURGLE, GRUMBLE!_ There might be a great evil just near, but also..." Smiling deviously, the boy paused, making sure to note everyone's facial expressions. "Even more treasure, even better loot, a whole ROOM full of gold!"

"No way! We are NOT going in there!" Slamming a hand on the table, Lucas shouted at his friends, gripping the pencil used to tally firmly in his right hand, the other splayed on the papers to his side. "We have enough gold to buy a castle, let's just drop it!"

"Why? With a whole room full of gold we could buy a TOWN! I say we open the door, face the beast, and plunder the extra loot." Dustin laughed as he spoke, watching Lucas's disapproving face as he turned to Mike. “I walk over to this dangerous feeling door and take the key, keeping my sword ready.”

“I stand behind Dustin, ready for whatever is behind the door with Fireball, ready to cast.” Will added as he skimmed over his spell sheet, keeping an eye on Mike as he began to set the scene even more.

“You guys are going to open it?”

“I guess so.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Lucas moved his token on the board next to Dustin and Will's, still seeming hesitant, but there for his friends as always.

“Alright, Dustin, you place the key in the rusted lock and it falls to the ground before you can turn it, allowing the old door to FLY open!” This caused Will to gasp, which in tern gave Mike a worried feeling. He didn't like frightening Will, after all that had happened to him... But the story had to go on, do the dark haired boy continued, trying to tread lightly on the dramatics and scary bits.

“Behind the door there is almost no light, but you all can see the glitter of golden scales, reflecting the treasure below the creature. It _roars_ in fright at the torchlight coming through the open door, stomping among the gold coins!”

“It's a dragon! We are SO screwed!” Yelling above the chatter of Dustin and Will worrying about their stats and what they have to roll to hit the beast, Lucas is shuffling papers around now too, eyes wide.

Giving a sly grin, Mike continues. “I never said that it was bad, you guys!--”

“What do you mean it isn't bad?! It's a **DRAGON** , Mike! They're _raw power_ at it's finest and they don't like being bothered!”

“Y-yeah! I cast Fireball--”

“You guys!” Mike repeats, sounding more desperate for them to listen now, hearing the fear crack Will's voice shaking him to the core. “The dragon is simply a sage, transmogrified into a mighty beast to deter thieves and those who are unworthy of the great treasure of which he guards!” These words put all his friends at ease, Will setting his dice down, Lucas releasing his iron grip on the edge of the table, and Dustin's 'thinking face' turning into a cheerful grin.

“It's _about time_ the monsters started being good guys!” Laughing nervously, Will seemed to be a bit more relaxed, which gave Mike some reassurance. It wasn't his original plan to make the dragon just some dude under a spell, but seeing his friend so very frightened made his heart almost break. He cared about his friends, especially Will, and he didn't want to scare the boy any more than he must already be.

“Yeah, the sage gives everyone high-fives, after turning back into a human, and step's aside, saying _'take all you want, worthy adventurers!'_ ,” Using a silly voice to even further lighten the mood, earning laughs from around the table, the dungeon master sat back in his chair, tallying something. “There **is**  enough gold to buy a town, that is, if you can carry it all home.” Smiling, he knew well that gold had no weight in the game, just adding the last bit for comedic effect.

 

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

 

About half an hour later, after the loot was collected, the last minute jokes told, and the additional candy trades made, it was time for his friends to leave, and Mike couldn't help but plead to his mom if they all could stay the night. It took some convincing, but she said that _ONE_ of his friends could stay. Anxiety struck the boy's heart like a train-- _How on earth was he going to pick only one!?_ Part of him just wanted to forget it, and tell everyone to go home, but part of him also knew what he really wanted to do. Seeing Will so afraid during their special Halloween campaign made Mike wanted to hang out with him under a pillow fort or something and tell him everything was going to be okay. Was that normal?

Telling everyone it was time to go was easy, because Lucas and Dustin both rode their bikes over, but Will didn't, meaning he could talk to him without feeling weird saying, _'Hey can I talk to Will about some secret plans or something?'_. Before Will could go upstairs to call Jonathan for a ride home, Mike intercepted him, fidgeting with his hands at his sides while he thought of what exactly to say.

“Uhm, my mom said I can have one friend stay the night, do you want her to call your mom and ask if it's okay? I mean-- If you want?” Feeling incredibly awkward, Mike tried not to look away or turn in any way as to physically exhibit his social nervousness, knowing well that Will would instantly detect it.

“Oh, uh, sure! We can't stay up too late though, my mom hates it when I do that and-- Well, you know her.” Smiling now, but still seeming a bit skittish, Will sat back down at the table, watching Mike go upstairs to tell her Will was staying.

 

 If anything was certain, just from knowing the two boys, it was that they wouldn't stay up too late, but they weren't going to go to bed any time soon.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope I can regularly update this like a normal person but who knows  
> If you liked it let me know! It helps with writing more honestly and idek if this is any good tBH


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